


In the Time of Love and Disease

by missladylinda03



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Requited Unrequited Love, grad student Geralt, musician/professional bum jaskier, no beta we die like renfri, quarantine fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:14:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24194140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missladylinda03/pseuds/missladylinda03
Summary: Obligatory Quarantine ficGeralt had a lot to juggle during his time in quarantine - the classes he taught, his PhD dissertation, worry about his friends. And living with the man he loves seriously isn't helping anything. It wasn't his fault Jaskier was so hard to ignore.Jaskier just hoped that he wouldn't get drunk one night and accidentally invite his roommate into his bed. It wasn't his fault Geralt was so damn tempting.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	In the Time of Love and Disease

Geralt glanced over some of the CraigsList apartment ads that Yennefer had handed him. “I don’t think any of these will work.” He placed the small pile of paper back down on the small table between the two of them. “None of them seem… right.” He tried not to wince as the excuse fell flat.

“You’re coming up with excuses.” Yennefer interrupted his explanation, waving her hand in the air. “Just last week you were talking about absolutely _needing_ an apartment within a block of, what,” she paused to take a sip of her coffee, her violet eyes laughing at him over the rim. “I remember now! A bike trail. Do you even _have_ a bike?”

Geralt knew his stony expression did not dissuade his friend from her teasing. “I can always buy one.”

Yennefer snickered, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, sure. It’s _totally_ not because of your complete infatuation with your housemate or anything. A _bicycle,_ Geralt? Seriously.” She impatiently snapped her fingers at him when he opened his mouth to argue. “You know, when I convinced you to move in with him last year, I wasn’t expecting you to refuse to leave.”

Geralt had never intended to live with Jaskier for more than a couple months – until he found an apartment closer to campus. One with large windows and designated parking and allowed his dog Roach and…. He refused to admit to Yennefer that he was in fact stalling. He _enjoyed_ living with Jaskier. It wasn’t just because he found the other man breathtaking – that was a big part of it – but he also enjoyed spending his evenings with him, listening to him bustle around the house and work out a new tune on one of his many instruments. He would never admit this to admit that to Yennefer, though. She would never let him live it down.

“You told me yourself that he needed somebody to ‘keep an eye on him’.”

“Yeah, last _year,_ when he was still getting over the break-in.” Yennefer reached out to grab the housing ads from the table and tucked them back into her purse. “Last I saw him, he seemed to be well over it. Unless you’re planning on growing a pair and asking him out?”

“I’ll move out when I find a place I like, Yenn.” Geralt muttered, not even bothering to answer her question. Jaskier? Dating _him_? He didn’t think his friend would appreciate Geralt pining after him like a lovesick fool. Uncomfortable with her knowing grin, he scrambled for a new conversation topic. “How’s Triss?” He knew that Yennefer’s physician girlfriend was always a good way to turn the conversation away from topics he didn’t want to discuss.

Yennefer raised a single eyebrow at his sudden topic change but humored his question. “Could be better. She’s still down in Cintra trying to stop that damn virus.” Her voice grew slightly bitter, and Geralt regretted bringing it up. “Speaking of, are you ready to teach online if the university shuts down?” Her voice back to its original teasing tone. “Do you even _know_ how to use Canvas?”

“Jaskier can help me,” he replied before he could stop himself. “Oh, fuck off,” he scowled into his coffee at her laughter. “I’ll figure it out.”

Yennefer gazed at him for a moment before glancing at her slim watch. “As much as I would love to continue chatting with you about your infatuation with your landlord, I _do_ have other plans today. If you won’t let me find you a new place to live, I will have to be on my way.”

Geralt also finished his coffee before standing up and swinging on his jacket. “Same time next week?”

“I don’t even know why I even try to find you places,” Yennefer’s complaint lacked any venom. “But yes, if everything is still open.”

* * *

Jaskier had originally lived alone in his house on the edge of town, a house that had only fallen into his possession after the untimely deaths of his parents. The house had never seemed very lonely or dangerous until the break in over a year and a half ago. He had been held at gun point by a man in a dark mask as another burglar had emptied his dearly departed grandmother’s china cabinet of her dusty crystal statues and tableware.

For weeks he had lived in fear, jumping at every shadow and creak, barely sleeping at night. He had bemoaned his situation to Triss, an old friend from undergrad. She had brought up a simple solution – find a roommate. And lo and behold, she knew just the person. A friend of Yennefer’s – “Yennefer has friends? Hell must really be frozen over” “Jaskier, be _nice_ ” – had been crashing on their couch for the past week while apartment hunting.

A couple days later, Triss introduced the two of them. Geralt hadn’t immediately come off as a serial killer or creep, so Jaskier had agreed to a short-term rent.

That was over a year ago. Jaskier hadn’t brought up Geralt moving out because – well, because he liked having him in the house. He felt safer, and he genuinely enjoyed having the gruff man around. It helped that Geralt was pretty easy to look at with all his muscles and tight pants and scars and – Jaskier could write entire _ballads_ about the grad student. But he wouldn’t, because he didn’t want to destroy the friendship the two of them had with declarations of love and the ilk.

So he threw himself into his work. And if he stopped bringing home men and women after his shows, nobody was the wiser. It’s not like Geralt even noticed.

“Are you listening to me?” Triss cut through his daydreaming. Jaskier guiltily turned his attention back to the laptop screen to smile at his friend. “What I’m talking about is serious, Jaskier.”

“Nothing serious, my dear. You really think it’s going to get as bad as Cintra out here?” Jaskier felt slightly guilty at tuning out his friend. She was in the middle of a pandemic, and here he was drooling over his very attractive, very unavailable friend.

“Absolutely.” Her answer came quickly. “I’m surprised that the university hasn’t shut down yet. Can you imagine?” She giggled. “Geralt? Teaching an online class?”

Jaskier cracked a grin at the mental image. “He would probably rather die than figure out Canvas, which means I would have to step in like the hero I am and help.”

“Where even is he?” Triss’s voice was tinny through the speakers on his laptop. “I didn’t realize that he did anything other than classes and complain about you.”

Laying a hand over his heart, Jaskier hid a smile behind an affronted gasp. “I’ll have you know that I am a pleasure and an absolute _delight_ to live with. And he’s with your darling girlfriend, talking about apartments.”

“Apartments? Still?” Triss laughed. “She’s been trying to help him find a new place for six months now. I honestly think he’s planning on living with you until he gets his PhD.” Her grin was sly as she continued. “And I don’t think you would mind.”

He clicked his tongue at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and if I did, why would I ever admit that to you?”

Her reply of “because I’m one of your only friends you –“ was cut off by Geralt strolling in through the front door.

“Oh look, here’s Geralt! And he’s brought food!” Jaskier chirped over her, reaching out to end the call. “It was good to see you again, Triss, be safe out there and wash your hands!” He paused long enough for her to say goodbye back before he shut the laptop and turned to his roommate, only feeling slightly guilty at ending the call so abruptly. “How was the violet wonder?”

Geralt raised his eyebrow at Jaskier before replying. “Fine.”

“Eloquent as always, I see.” Jaskier teased. “Did you bring any food home for dinner? I’m _starved_.”

“Of course I did.” Geralt held up a bag of groceries. “I don’t know what you did to feed yourself before I moved in.”

“Take out?” Jaskier flashed a winning smile at Geralt and he rolled his eyes in response. “And anyways, that’s why I have you, right? What are we having?”

“Right.” Geralt grumbled back. “Spaghetti.”

Geralt moved to the counter to start washing the vegetables while Jaskier collected the cutting boards and pots that were needed. They easily fell into their normal dinner routine of Geralt handing Jaskier items that needed to be diced while he worked the stovetop, Jaskier chattering about everything and nothing the entire time. Geralt grunted or replied occasionally, but mainly let Jaskier fill the silence, pretending to not see Jaskier slip Roach pieces of food every couple minutes.

They ate their dinner at the small table in the bright kitchen after shoving the piles of scrap paper that Jaskier had been using for scratch paper to the side. Jaskier had then turned to his work as an excuse to sit back and watch Geralt rinse off the dishes and fill the dishwasher. Geralt had decided to wear black jeans that morning and they clung to him just right when he bent over to place the silverware in their rack. Sure, Jaskier was never going to admit to the other man that he loved him, but that wasn’t going to stop him from _looking._

They then migrated to the living room couch, Geralt glancing over some assignments he had assigned his students the week past and Jaskier flipping through his TV for a mindless sitcom to ignore for the evening.

A month after Geralt had moved in, Jaskier had discovered that he didn’t mind Jaskier’s mindless physical affection. More nights than most, Jaskier would turn sideways across the couch and throw his legs across Geralt’s lap. They never spoke about it, but Jaskier allowed himself to be more affectionate when they were alone together. He found himself running his fingers through the other man’s silver hair when he walked past, bumping their shoulders together when he found something funny, small motions. And if sometimes Geralt placed his hand on Jaskier’s knee when he found something the smaller man had said funny, he didn’t let himself read to far into it.

They sat quietly for almost ten minutes, Geralt staring at the schoolwork, Jaskier scrolling through his phone with his legs thrown across the other man’s lap with the tv droning on in the background. For once, Geralt broke the silence.

“You’re quieter than normal tonight,” Geralt pointed out. “Something happen today?”

“Nah,” Jaskier tried to answer airily. He thought for a moment before answering honestly. “Just a little worried about Triss. She is always running headfirst into danger. I don’t want anything to happen to her down in Cintra.”

“Her? In danger?” Geralt patted Jaskier’s knee. “She’ll be fine. She can take care of herself.”

“I guess.” He couldn’t quite hide the doubt in his voice.

Geralt turned towards Jaskier, his golden eyes gazing steadily at him. “She’ll be okay, Jaskier.”

Jaskier broke eye contact first, glancing down at his phone before back up to his friend. “Okay.” Geralt didn’t push, which Jaskier was grateful for.

The rest of the evening was spent more like a normal night, with Jaskier interrupting Geralt’s work every couple minutes to show him a meme or video. It was closing in on midnight when the two of them separated to retire for the night in their own rooms. And if Jaskier paused in the hallway for a moment to consider inviting Geralt into his bed, the other man didn’t have to know.

* * *

Geralt woke before the dawn to an urgent alert from his university. He was still half asleep when he opened the message, but snapped alert when he read its contents.

Effective Immediately: University moving to online classes for the rest of the spring semester.

Please speak to your instructors for further information about your classes.

Geralt no longer had a place to go to run away from his feelings about his closest friend. No escape from Jaskier and his cheerful singing, his too-large shirts that he stole from Geralt. No escape from his flirtatious comments that only work to remind Geralt of what he can never have. No escape from the bittersweet pain he felt in his chest every time they touch. No escape from _Jaskier._

“Fuck,” he grumbled to the air before falling back into his bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Find me on tumblr at hobbit1ass


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